Washing machine



Nimh 11 1924; m4865233 B. C. CURBY WASHING MACHINE Filed sept. 25, 1922' 2 sheets-sheet 1 BERNARD C. CURBY, 0F KANKAKEE, ILLINOIS.

WASHING- IIACHINE.

Application led September 25, 1922. Serial No. 590,475.

To all whom z'zf may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD C. CURBY, `a citizen of the United States, lresiding at Kankakee, in the county of Kankakee and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Washing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to washing Inachines and has special reference to the means for operating washing machines in which the rubbers are constantly agitated. The invention has for its object the provision of means whereby the machine will be automatically operated and may be readily set to run at any desired speed, and 'also has for its object the provision of means whereby the driving mechanism may be held against movement when 'the machine is not to operate. The invention also seeks to provide an operating mechanism which will be compact in form and may be readily mounted upon a simple supporting frame'so that there will be no waste of space in the practice of the invention. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is an elevation of a washing machine having my improvements embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is an elevation viewing the machine at right angles to the viewpoint in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 isa detail horizontal V'section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a supporting frame 1 which may be of any convenient or preferred form and upon which the tub 2 is placed. The tub is preferably of the circular form illustrated and upon the cover 3 thereof is erected a hollow post 4 in which the dolly shaft 5 is mounted for vertical reciprocation. Disposed approximately radially upon the cover 3 is a bearing bracket 6 in which the crank shaft 7 is journaled, the crank 8 of said'shaft being 'connected by a pitman 9 with an arm or cross-headlO secured rigidly to and projecting laterally from the upper end of the Ya well-known manner.

dolly shaft 5. Upon the outer end of the shaft 7 is secured a fly wheel 11 and a bevele'd pinion 12, the fly wheel being provided with an enlargement or weight 13 of any convenient form at a pointdiametrically opposite to the crank 8 whereby the weight of the crank will be counterbalanced and the shaft 7 permitted to rotate with an even steady motion. Secured upon and rising from the supporting frame 1 is a supplemental frame 14 which is suitably braced, as by bars 15, and a vertical shaft 16 is jour-- naled in and supported by the upper end of the said frame 14 and in a suitable bearing 17 provided upon the main supporting frame 1. 'Io the upper extremity of the shaft 16, I secure a beveled gear 18 which meshes with the beveled pinion 12 whereby the rotation of the vertical shaft 16 will be transmitted directly to the crank shaft 7. To the lower extremity of the shaft 17, I secure a sprocket kpinion 19, about which is trained' a sprocket chain 2O which is also trained about a gear 21 which will be presently more particularly described. Immediately above the supporting frame 1, a spur pinion 22 is secured upon the shaft 16 and this pinion meshes with a spur gear 23, upon the upper side of which is a locking or brake wheel or disk 24 provided with spaced lugs or teeth 25 upon its upper side. A locking or holding lever 26 is pivotally mounted upon the frame 14 in such position that the lower end 27 thereof may engage between adjacent lugs 25 upon the brake disk 24 and thereby prevent rotation of said disk and, consequently, hold the entire mechanism at rest. Above the spur pinion 22, a spur gear 28 is secured-to the shaft 16 and this spur gear 28 meshes with a spur pinion 29 secured upon the lower end of a governor shaft 30. Near the upper end of the governor shaft, a brake disk 31 is slidably fitted thereon and this disk is connected by resilient arms 32 with the 'hub of the pinion 29, weights 33 being secured centrally to the said resilient arms so that they may move outwardly under centrifugal force in It will be noted that the governor shaft is rotatably mounted at its upper end only within an arm 34 extending from the vertical frame 14. Mounted upon a bracket 35 extending laterally from the vertical frame'14 at the top thereof is a brake lever 36 which has its upper extremity disposed below the brake disk 31, as shown clearly at 37 in Fig. 2, and the lower extremity of the said lever is equipped with a handle or grip 3 8 and adapted to play adjacent a post or standard 39 upon the main frame. A latch 40 may `be engaged in this post 39 at any desired height of the same below the lever so as to limit the downward movement of they outer end thereof and thereby set the upper extremity of the lever at any desired distance below the brake disk 31. Should the rotation of the driving shaft 16 exceed a predetermined speed, the action of the governor will bring the disk 31 into Contact with the upper extremity of they lever 36 and the said disk will then act as a brake to retard the rotation of the shaft and, consequently, reduce the speed of the washing machine rubber tothe predetermined normal. p

The sprocket gear 21 is connected by posts 41 to the top plate 42 of a drum 43 which Vis enclosed within a casing 44 secured upon the lower portion of the frame 1 below the tub 2, as clearly shown. A central shaft 45 passes loosely through the sprocket gear 21 into the drum and one end of a motor spring lis secured to the Said shaft within the drum,

a well-known manner.

Vthe opposite end of the spring being secured to the circumferential wall of the drum in Below the drum, a

i Aratchet wheel 46is secured to the shaft 45 and is engaged by a pawl 47 Vmounted in the* 'bottom of the casing 44 and held in engagement with the ratchet by aspring 48. The shaft 45 is a winding'shaft and is equipped at its upper end above the sprocket gear 21 with a beveled pinion 49 which meshes withV a beveled pinion 50 below the tub and on the inner end of a shaft 51 which extends Vradially of the tub to the side of the frame 1 opposite that side upon which the frame 14' is mounted. Brackets 52and'53 are secured to the frame at a point diametrically vopposite the frame 14 and these brackets support between them the outer end of the shaftl, as well as stub shafts, arranged above the shaft 51. A gear 54 is secured upon the outer end of the shaft 51 and meshes with a gear 55 secured upon the lower stub shaft, and the gear 55 in turn meshes with a pinion 56 upon the upper stub shaft, a crank 57 being engaged with the uppermost stub shaft, as shown in Fig. 1.

1t is thought the operation will be readily understood. When the holding lever 26 has its lower end engaged with'the lugs 25 of the holding or locking disk 24, the shaft 16 will be held against rotation and, conse- Y wound. condition.

quently, the dolly shaft 5 will not operate. While the driving mechanism is thus locked against movement, Vthe crank 57 may be manipulated to transmit motion through the gears 56, 55 and 54 to the shaft 51 and thereby rotate the winding shaft 45 so as 'to wind the motor spring, the ratchet 46 and pawl 47 serving to hold the spring in its After-the spring has been wound, if the lever 26 be swung about its pivot, the fulcrum or lower end 27 thereof will be released from the lugs 25 and the spring will then be free to unwind, and, in unwinding, will set up rotation in the drumV 43, which rotation will be imparted directly to the gear 21 and thence through the chain 2O to the shaft 16 so that the crank shaft 7 and the Vgovernor shaft 30 will be also rotated through the gearing shown and described. r1`he dolly shaft 5 will be thereupon reciprocated vertically inasmuch as there are no projecting parts above the Vgears 12 and 18 to interfere with the lifting or lowering of the same. VThe mechanism is direct acting and may be easily permitted to run at any desired speed, according to the naturefof the goods being washed,- by merely' setting the brake lever 36 inthe proper position. All the parts of the mechanism are vi sible' at all times so that the action may be observed .and `access readily had to any parts which may need cleaning, repairing'or Vadjusting.A

Having: thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The'combination of a'crank shaft, o perative connections between the crank shaft` and a working element, a beveled gear carried' by the outer end of theVv said shaft, a vertical shaft, a Vbeveled gear carried by the upper endof said shaft below and meshing with the'beveledpinion on the crank shaft, a spring motor arranged below the driven machine, and operative connections'between the said motor and the vertical shaft for rotating the latter. 7

2. The combination, of a vertically disposed shaft mounted at the sideof a driven machine, gearing connectingthe upper end of said shaft with the working element of the machine, a spring motor arranged below the machine and operatively connected with the lower end of said shaft, a governor shaft disposed parallel with the first-mentioned shaft and geared thereto, a brake disk and a brake lever mounted adjacent the governlr shaft and projecting under the bra-ke dis 3. The combination, of a Vertical shaft arranged at the Side of a driven machine, gearing connecting the upper end of said shaft with the working element of the machine, a spring motor disposed below the machine7 gearing connecting said motor with the lower end of the vertical shaft, a 10 locking disk geared to the Said vertical shaft, and a locking lever mounted above the said disk and having its lower end arranged to lockingly engage the same.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

BERNARD C. CURBY. [ne] 

